


Denial Only Lasts So Long

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: 1.07 Denial AU, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Spitfire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 03:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5318768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A twist on the episode Denial from the first season of Young Justice. Focus on Spitfire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Denial Only Lasts So Long

Wally crouched down over the motionless body at his feet while bursts of energy continued to smack against the protective bubble Kent had thrown up. His hands pressed against the old man’s chest rhythmically until he could no longer believe there was any chance he’d be able to revive the man. The helmet next to him was sparking brightly every time a new flash of color hit the golden bubble surrounding them. Wally’s eyes searched frantically for a way out of this mess, but the only ones on the top of the tower were him, Klarion, and his stupid cat.

_“Wally! We really need help from Kent! Things are going bad down here. Are you two almost done dealing with Klarion? Wally?”_

_“Just give me a second.”_

_“A second? Wally, what?”_

His hands gripped onto the smooth metal of the helmet and raised it over his head where he held it for a moment before slowly lowering it down. In that time, Klarion had managed to rip apart the barrier around him with the two hands he had created out of his ‘magic.’ The last thing he saw right before he settled the helmet securely on his head was Klarion sending a burst of dark energy directly at him. Everything went pitch black around him for a few seconds, then a light popped on above Wally’s head like a spotlight shining down on him.

_“What in the world?”_

_“Technically, you’re in a different world or plane. However you want to look at it.”_

_“But you’re…”_

_“Dead? I know. When you put on the helmet, my spirit got sucked in here with you on my way to see Inza.”_

_“How?”_

_“Probably because of all the years I spent wearing the helmet.”_

_“The helmet?”_

_“That’s where we are right now, kid.”_

_“What? How is that possible?”_

_“Your soul got sucked into the helmet when you put it on. Now Nabu is using your body as a conduit for his powers.”_

_“Who’s Nabu?”_

_“The master of this helmet. The real Doctor Fate.”_

_“But you were Doctor Fate.”_

_“No. I was just the body he’s been using.”_

_“Ow.” Wally barely manage to catch himself as he stumbled forward because of some invisible force slamming into his back. “What was that?”_

_“He is using your body. Why do you think I haven’t put the helmet on in years?”_

_“So what happens if Nabu loses this battle?”_

_“You’ll see Inza before I do, kid.”_

_“So no pressure then. Am I just supposed to sit here and wait while Nabu uses my body.”_

_“Like I said, it’s your body. If you want to watch, just use your eyes.”_

* * *

 

Artemis could feel her body spasming uselessly against the electric trap that Abra Kadabra had managed to surround all of them with. She wanted nothing more than to break his stupid fake wand on his head in the process of beating him with it, but there was no way she would be able to do that while writhing on the floor in pain. Her other teammates were letting out pained sounds that Artemis had long ago learned to keep locked up. Flashes of blue electricity were starting to dance around the edges of her vision as the world around her began tilting and weaving.

Just as Artemis was sure she was moments away from falling unconscious, the electrical cage around her disappeared abruptly. Doctor Fate was floating right behind Abra Kadabra with the villain’s clothes at a pile under his floating feet. Abra scrambled away from Doctor Fate looking completely terrified now that he no longer had any of his fancy toys to help him. He didn’t get very far before Doctor Fate sent golden ropes speeding towards him that wrapped the man up instantly.

“You have caused enough chaos in this world.” Artemis looked closely at the hovering hero when something about the mix of voices sounded oddly familiar to her. “Your dealings with Klarion have sealed your fate.”

“Wally?”

Sharp green eyes that were normally full of laughter and playfulness turned to look at Artemis with a cold, hard stare. “This body is now under my control. There is much chaos in this world and I have spent too long sitting on a shelf collecting dust. I will use this body to do what I was created for.”

“He doesn’t even believe in magic. Surely there are better choices.”

“Are you offering to take his place? You have no more belief in magic than this boy does. The result would be the same.”

“He has a family. He goes to school. He’s barely even lived!”

“His parents know of his choice to act as a hero. They should be proud that his body will be put to good use in the fight to return order to the world.”

Artemis felt utterly helpless watching Wally’s body doing things it normally wouldn’t be able to do. “Please. We can find someone else. There have to be other people out there.”

“Your pleas mean nothing to me. It could take years for you to find a suitable candidate who is willing to wear my helmet.”

“There has to be something we can do.”

“You have nothing to offer.” Doctor Fate went quite for several minutes with a distant look in his eyes like he was listening to something the others couldn’t hear. “I find your offer to be agreeable. I will give the boy his body back.”

A flash of gold light filled the air right where Doctor Fate had been floating causing everyone to close their eyes because of the brightness. When Artemis opened hers up again, Wally was falling to the ground completely limp along with the helmet. His body hit the ground with a small thud that she wouldn’t have been able to hear over the sound of the helmet clattering to the ground if she hadn’t of been listening for it.  She let her still trembling legs carry her over to the spot Wally was lying unconscious on the hard floor.

For a second she let her hands hover hesitantly over his body, but decided she would need to flip him onto his back if she was going to be able to look him over properly. She did her best to keep him from jostling his head and neck too much as her hands expertly gripped the easiest access points to get him rolled over. His eyes were closed like she had expected them to be and she couldn’t see any visible bumps on his head from hitting the floor. Her hands clinically ran across his scalp looking for possible signs of head injury.

She was just coming to the conclusion that there were no outward signs of head injury, when Wally opened his eyes groggily and looked up at her with slight confusion etched into his features. “If you wanted to feel me up so bad, you could have just asked.”

“I was checking you for potential injuries, but clearly there’s nothing wrong with you if you can still manage such terrible lines.”

“That’s what all the girls say.”

“Only in your dreams.” Artemis picked up the helmet next to Wally’s side and held it out to the boy. “What was the deal you made?”

“I didn’t. We need to call the Justice League.”

“Why?”

“Something happened. Kent… He didn’t make it.”

“I’m sure Robin has already called Batman about what happened. The whole league will probably be here soon.”

“Great. Good.”

* * *

 

Wally placed Kent’s-no, Doctor Fate’s-helmet on the souvenir shelf next to all the other things he had managed to pick up on their missions so far. One day he would find the perfect person to take the helmet so Kent could be with Inza again, but until that happened he would leave it on the shelf as a reminder. If it came down to it, Wally knew he would put the helmet on again to save the people he cared about. Even if it meant being trapped in the helmet while Nabu used his body for years.

A soft knock on the door had Wally turning his attention from the helmet to the slowly turning brass knob. Artemis leaned casually against the doorway once she had the door completely opened and looked at Wally with slightly raised eyebrows. Wally expected some sort of sarcastic quip about what happened earlier, but the blonde archer remained quiet for once. He went back to looking at the helmet and adjusted it to the side slightly just so he had something to do with his hands.

“What happened? When you put on the helmet.”

“It released some sort of energy that rewrote the beta-waves in my brain. I was bioscripted into being Doctor Fate.”

Artemis scoffed and pushed herself off the doorway until she was standing next to Wally. “You’re telling me you still don’t believe in magic. You had absolutely no control of your body. Doctor Fate was going to keep using it until he brought back order to the planet.”

“Aw, were you worried about me? I knew you had a thing for me. None of the ladies can resist.”

“Grow up, Wally. Why can’t you just admit that magic is real?”

“Because I grew up believing in science. I got my speed by recreating the same experiment the Flash used to get his. The world makes sense because there is a scientific explanation for everything, even if it hasn’t been found yet.”

“Then why keep it?”

“Souvenir.”

“Geek!” Artemis rolled her eyes and started to head back out the way she had come in when a thought struck Wally.

“Did you know I could see what was happening while I had the helmet on? I could hear things, too.”

“So?”

“Why did you try so hard to get Nabu to let me go?”

“I didn’t.”

Wally stepped closer to Artemis so she wouldn’t be able to walk away-not that Wally wouldn’t have been able to catch up with her if she did. “You were the one to figure out it was me and you were the one arguing with him. Why?”

“I’m sure Robin would have done the same thing.”

“But he didn’t. You did!”

“Wally, drop it.”

“No! I want to know why.”

“You are so annoying!” Artemis brought up her hands up so quickly Wally thought she was going to smack him, but all she did was grip his face tightly and bring it down so she could press her lips against his. “Did you need a better explanation or was that scientific enough for you, Baywatch?”

“Generally speaking, you’re supposed to repeat experiments at least three times to make sure the results are both precise and accurate.”

“Geek.”


End file.
